Shiny Things

By BOP Staff

May 5, 2005

Welcome to Shiny Things, where the BOP staff members take a little time to let readers know what's catching our attention this week. Whether it's film-related, a new musical group or a great book, we've got such an eclectic group that you're almost certain to find something that also suits your fancy.

UPN Renewing Veronica Mars

This news came out on my birthday, and I truly couldn't have asked for a better gift. The show is one of the best things on television, and the best choice UPN could make for a new signature show. It's smart, well written, funny, and isn't as dark as a show focused around the murder of a high school girl should be. Yes, there are dark moments, but they don't weigh down the show as they could. If you haven't been fortunate enough to catch this show, and odds are you haven't, I suggest getting the inevitable DVD set once it is released.

Every week offers a new mystery to be solved, while uncovering more clues to the season's biggest mystery and driving arc, the murder of Veronica's best friend Lilly Kane. The big draws are the writing and the cast. Kristen Bell plays the title character, and I'm convinced she could make any project better. Her father, who lost his job as police chief because of his claims that Lilly was murdered by her father, is well acted by Enrico Calantoni who is probably most well known for his sit-com work. The real find may be Jason Dohring. He and Bell work so well together, he's been switched from major antagonist to a possible love interest for our title character. The writing is good enough to make this transition not only believable, but natural. Had UPN chose to end it after this season, I would have missed it like I do Firefly and Wonderfalls, and there's not a higher compliment I could give. (Jared Fields/BOP)

God of War

"You are Kratos and you must murder the God of War." That sinister directive is boldly placed on the back cover of the recent PS2 hit, God of War. Being a relatively avid gamer, I had heard a fair amount of buzz on this, including some splendid reviews of the game, in recent weeks. Initially, though, I had no intention of picking the game up since I had a number of other current games to occupy my time. I still had plenty of ballin' left to do in NBA Street Vol. 3, was barely 25 percent complete on Gran Turismo 4, have some goals left to attain in Katamari Damacy, and would still like to get over the 90 percent hump in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Oh, not to mention the fact that I have a new shiny PSP with four games. Furthermore, as much as I enjoy playing video games, I’ve never been too much of an action/adventure player. I generally stick to sports, racing, and GTA. Alas, the game just sounded too cool and I picked it up on a whim a couple weekends ago.

I have chosen... wisely. Man, this game just plain rocks! The plot is fairly straightforward; you play as Kratos, a Spartan warrior and your ultimate job is to take out Ares, the God of War who has gone mad. Along the way you fight a number of mythical creatures including Minotaurs and Cyclops, and you even acquire the powers of other gods. For instance, one power you obtain is of Zeus and the ability to toss bolts of lightening. One thing that makes the game quite enjoyable is the creative use of puzzles. Basically, the only way to advance at certain points is to figure out the "puzzle"; it might spoil the enjoyment of the game by saying anymore about them. There are four levels of difficulty (the hardest level is not playable until beating the game once on at least the normal setting). I am playing on normal and have found it to be quite reasonable, though I would been lying if I said that I haven’t consulted gamefaqs.com a couple times for a hint on a puzzle or two. (Michael Bentley/BOP)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, from Infocom

Back in the halcyon days before Xbox Live pitted friend against friend in mortal combat, there was a different sort of video game that attained historic heights of popularity. This brand of computer experience did not have the convenience of revolutionary three-dimensional graphics and millions of colors to visually represent the visions of the coder-creators. Instead, it relied upon the imagination of the user to fill in the blanks created by the limitations of the technology. The games were the Infocom library, and they are still passionately embraced to this day. Early computer gamers have their eyes light up at the mere mention of this legendary description: “You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.” None of the games in the Zork series, however, were the developer’s masterpiece. That honor is reserved for Hitchhiker’s Guide, the game that Infocom programmer wrote with none other than author Douglas Adams himself. The game is imbued with his eclectic wit and holds up stunningly well to this day. Better yet, you can play it for free thanks to the fine folks at the BBC But you might want to check out GameFAQs.com first. Otherwise, you will never solve the mystery of how to simultaneously have tea and no tea. (David Mumpower/BOP)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy DVD

While we’re on the subject of Don’t Panic, there is one other must have item on the agenda. The BBC jumped on the Hitchhiker bandwagon long before most people had heard of it. In point of fact, they created the phenomenon. Douglas Adams crafted the first book based on his radio serial of the same name on BBC. Afterward, he turned around and used the combined inspiration of the book and the radio series to create a series of six television episodes. Stubbornly low budget (think old school Dr. Who), the limited run is cheesy and silly but tons of fun. Since it has the fingerprints of Adams all over it, there is no issue with the message being misinterpreted as some critics have argued happened with the movie. Instead, there is the unmistakable goofy slapstick tone that defines Adams as a writer permeating throughout. The visit to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe alone justifies purchasing the discs, but there are also a couple of features thrown in that celebrate the Hitchhiker’s Guide experience. If you can’t wait for the movie’s release on DVD, this is a perfect way to celebrate the genius of Adams as well as the franchise he created. (David Mumpower/BOP)

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems

This children’s book was a Caldecott Honor Book for 2004, which means it was a runner-up for best illustrations in a children’s book. While many of you may think that reading a children’s “picture book” is beneath you, I think you should give this one a shot. Children’s literature has expanded and become much more sophisticated since the early “Dick and Jane” days. There are many quality writers, illustrators, and writer/illustrators out there. This particular book is about a very persistent pigeon that wants to drive a bus. The bus driver has left for a bit and has asked you, the reader, to watch the bus for him. The pigeon promptly appears and tries many different tactics to get you to let him take over. Will the pigeon finally get his chance? You’ll have to read it and find out. (Marty Doskins/BOP)

Consumer Reports

Way back in 1933, during the depths of the Depression, a group called Consumers Union felt that the folks shelling out their (very) hard-earned money for products should be getting the best possible return on their funds. They should get products that were safe, easy to use, reliable and did what they were supposed to. Thus was born Consumer Reports, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy magazine.

Consumer Reports differs from other consumer advocate magazines in a number of ways. First, and perhaps most important, Consumer Reports does not accept advertising of any kind. Zero. Zilch. Nada. This is how it has been from the beginning, and will continue to be until the magazine stops publishing. The reasoning is simple: if Consumer Reports accepts advertising, then how will its readers be sure that they’re getting unbiased information? If a report on, say, compact cars is accompanied by an ad for the Ford Focus, then how sure can a reader be that the top rating given the Focus wasn’t bought and paid for? Consumers Union, the magazine’s publisher, is a non-profit that operates solely on contributions. And that includes the cost of publishing a magazine.

Second, Consumer Reports buys all the products it tests the same way that you or I do: at retail. They don’t get products donated from manufacturers, and they don’t make a show of being the buyer. They have staffers go in just like regular customers to the local Sears or Best Buy or Home Depot or wherever the product to be tested is sold and buy it. Again, the logic is simple: Getting products directly from the manufacturer would certainly skew results, as the manufacturer would make sure the item given to Consumer Reports to be tested had been gone over with a fine-tooth comb to correct any problems or issues, and how is that going to e helpful in determining what the public purchases?

And finally, Consumer Reports does not allow the results of its product testing to be used in advertising. Once again, the reason is simplicity itself: Allowing the test results to be used as a selling point taints the objectivity. And really, when you see those car commercials touting a magazine by name as having rated the car A-1 or whatever, don’t you wonder what sort of incentive was offered by the car company to the magazine to make that rating? Boosts the car’s sales, boosts the magazine’s sales, everybody gets something. Except the consumer.

Consumer Reports doesn’t just test products, either. It also ferrets out misleading advertising, exposes legislation that impacts consumer rights and lists recalls regularly in its magazines. And sometimes it courts controversy; Consumers Union recently settled a lawsuit with Suzuki over tests of the Samurai that found the sports-utility vehicle was more prone than other models of its class to rollovers during emergency avoidance maneuvers, a finding also reported by a number of news agencies. Suzuki claimed Consumer Reports doctored its findings, but the suit was thrown out of court. It was later reinstated on appeal, and settled in July 2004. Although Consumers Union didn’t go so far as to say they had won, the settlement involved no retraction, and no money changed hands. You be the judge.

Now, all this might sound like a dry, scientific magazine that would be a better soporific than a fascinating read. But the folks who write for Consumer Reports know their audience isn’t scientists and technicians, but Joe Six-Pack. And while the text is never condescending, neither is it overly laden with technobabble, and the writers remember that humor can often be as effective a teaching tool as hard facts. And the section on the inside back cover on the sometimes hilariously unbelievable ways companies advertise products isn’t to be missed.

With Consumer Reports, you not only learn how to get the beset for your money, but also have fun doing it. It’s a worthwhile magazine published by a non-profit organization with no other agenda than to educate the public and help them spend their (still) hard-earned money on the safest, most reliable products out there. Not bad for a 70+ publication. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)

MLB Extra Innings

I have been a loyal Cleveland Indians fan since the days of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn back in sixth grade. But, alas, I don't live in Ohio and have not been able to see many games other than those on national TV or when The Tribe plays a local team. Well, this year I did it. DirecTV had a free week-long preview of MLB Extra Innings the first week of the season, and I was mesmerized. Hook. Line. Sinker. MLB Extra Innings is one of the best things to happen to Major League Baseball in years. One really great thing is that it seems to use the TV broadcast from the home team. So say the Tribe is in Chicago for a series, they have the White Sox announcers. It is interesting to see some local commercials from other areas of the country and to experience the differences and idiosyncrasies of the many talking heads. This package is a bit pricey (about $170 for the season if you didn't order by April 1), but I have a feeling that this will be money well spent. (Michael Bentley/BOP)

National Lacrosse League

The NBA isn’t the only professional sports league that has its own playoffs going on. The National Lacrosse League is getting in on the action, too. The National *WHAT* League?!?! If you don’t live in Canada or the Northeastern United States, you may not have heard of lacrosse. But that doesn’t mean the sport hasn’t been around. Native Americans played the sport of lacrosse in North America way before the English came to the New World. The game has evolved since then, with players using football-like pads and aluminum or titanium shafts, but the basics of the game remain the same. It can be described as a combination of hockey, basketball, and football and is played on a hockey rink covered with artificial turf.

Lacrosse is growing in popularity – it is the fastest growing sanctioned sport in high schools in the United States. While it has been a fixture in the Northeastern United States for many years, it is spreading like wildfire across the country. Youngsters everywhere are picking up lacrosse sticks. One huge advantage of this sport is that you don’t always have to be the fastest or strongest player to be a productive member of a team. It’s all about stick skills. Can you fake past the defenseman, dodge left, spin right, fake a shot up high, and then drill the ball low past that goalie? Kids are having fun finding out about the sport.

While the NHL players fight with owners about how many millions in salary they’re going to make, the NLL players play for love of the game. The average lacrosse player makes around $15,000 per year. They all have regular day jobs outside of lacrosse working as stock brokers, medical supply company reps, or filmmakers, just to name a few. And most of them have to commute, even to home games.

The six teams in the playoffs this year are the Calgary Roughnecks, Arizona Sting, Colorado Mammoth, Toronto Rock, Buffalo Bandits, and Rochester Knighthawks. They will play for the next couple of weekends, leading up to the Champion’s Cup Final, which will be broadcast live on NBC in America and The Score in Canada on May 14th at 3:30 PM Eastern time.

If you’re getting the jitters from the lack of hockey this season, give the NLL a chance. You’ll be glad you did. (Marty Doskins/BOP)

Michael Wilbon's column at The Washington Post

You may have watched him on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption as he squares off against co-host Tony Korneiser on various sports-related issues, but with regular reading of Michael Wilbon's columns, you get even deeper. In recent weeks, Wilbon has discussed such issues as the NFL draft (he hates it), the Washington Wizards (he loves them less than the Baby Bulls), and the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. While his appearances on television and call-ins to talk radio make it apparent that he is an eloquent and often times hilarious commentator, this column gives fans of both Washington-area sports (I'm not one) and Wilbon aficionados (I am one)the chance to ruminate along with the man as he offers up insightful discourse about the topics he finds most affecting. Even when I'm not particularly interested in the day's motif, I still find his witty discussions to be a worthwhile read. He'll keep you educated on sports-related issues and he frequently throws in stuff from everyday life. I've had his column archive bookmarked for months, and I always find something new to appreciate each time I visit. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

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